1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for interconnecting a plurality of consumer electronics devices. More specifically, the present invention is directed to systems and methods that allow interconnection of a television set or other display device and various consumer electronics devices such as VCRs, video disk players, satellite receivers, cable boxes, video game players, and Internet terminal devices.
2. The Prior State of the Art
Since its introduction, the television has provided a source of entertainment for millions of individuals. The television has traditionally been a fairly simple device that is easy for users to set up and connect. Traditionally, a user simply unboxed the television, connected the antenna, plugged the television in and turned it on.
Today, however, televisions have moved well beyond their traditional configurations and may form the center of a wide array of entertainment and information systems. For example, various consumer electronics devices, such as VCRs, video disk players, video game devices, and so forth, may be connected to a television to provide enhanced entertainment opportunities. In addition, recently there have been introduced a variety of inexpensive Internet terminal boxes which allow individuals to connect to the Internet to send and receive information. These Internet terminals use a television set as the display device. Furthermore, video programming may be received not only from traditional broadcast antennas, but also cable television services and satellite receivers. In order to give a high quality viewing experience, home theater systems that provide surround sound and near theater quality audio can also be connected.
Although consumers are now able to custom configure a wide variety of home entertainment and information systems using the various consumer electronic choices available today, connecting the devices together in order to realize the full benefit of the consumer electronic devices can be extremely difficult. In fact, various configurations can be so complicated, that users refuse to consider the purchase of additional consumer electronics devices simply because they cannot figure out how to connect them together. In order to provide high quality video and audio, the mechanisms for connecting these various consumer electronics devices to a television may vary dramatically from device to device. Connections may include not only coaxial cable, but also a variety of RCA-type connectors for audio and/or video, S-video connectors, and so forth. If the various video and audio standards of foreign countries are taken into account, the various configurations and connectors is extremely vast.
In order to help illustrate the magnitude of the problem, reference will now be made to FIGS. 1-6 which show various potential configurations for how an Internet terminal, such as those that are commonly available today, may be connected to a television. Referring first to FIG. 1, the most basic configuration is illustrated. In FIG. 1, a low-cost Internet terminal is illustrated generally as 20. Such Internet terminals are typically specialized low-cost computer devices designed specifically to connect to the Internet and allow browsing and delivery of information from the Internet to the television screen. Such computers include the NC, licensed by Network Computer, Inc., the Sega Saturn (combined with the netlink accessory), by Sega Corporation, and the WebTV, by WebTV Networks, Inc. As illustrated in FIG. 1, such Internet terminals may have a plurality of various connectors on the back of the device that allow the device to be connected to the television and to the various other consumer electronics devices a user might have. In FIG. 1, such connectors are illustrated generally as 22.
In the most basic configuration, an Internet terminal is connected to the television without any other consumer electronics devices via traditional coaxial cable. In this configuration, illustrated in FIG. 1, coaxial cable 24 coming from an antenna or cable box is connected to an input connector 26. A second coaxial cable 28 is connected between Internet terminal 20 and television 30 as illustrated in FIG. 1. Additionally, power cord 32 and telephone cable 34 are connected to their respective connectors. Such a configuration would be used, for example, with an older style television which only had a VHF/UHF connector 36 as indicated.
In order to improve the video quality of information flowing from a consumer electronics device to a television, many newer televisions have direct audio and video inputs. Such a television is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 2. As illustrated in FIG. 2, Television 38 has not only VHF/UHF connector 36 but also a direct video input 40 and a direct audio input 42. Such connectors are usually configured to receive a standard RCA type connector. As indicated in FIG. 2, a standard RCA cable 44 is connected to video input 40, audio input 42 and corresponding video output 46 and audio output 48 on the Internet terminal. Since the television is configured only to accept mono audio signals, the second stereo audio output is not utilized.
Turning next to FIG. 3, yet a different type of television having different connectors is illustrated. In this figure, television 50 has not only video inputs 40 but also S-video input 52 and stereo audio inputs 54 and 56. S-video is yet another standard that has been developed in order to provide crisper, higher quality video signals to televisions. Thus, it is desirable to use S-video whenever possible. In FIG. 3, therefore, rather than using video input 40, S-video cable 58 is connected between S-video input 52 and S-video output 60 of Internet terminal 20. Left channel audio input 54 is then connected to left channel audio output connector 48 of Internet terminal 20, and right channel audio input 56 is connected to right channel audio output 62 of Internet terminal 20 in order to provide stereo sound between Internet terminal 20 and television 50. If, for some reason, the user did not desire to use the S-video input, then television 50 may be connected to Internet terminal 20 as illustrated in FIG. 4 by using RCA cable 44 to connect video output 46 to video input 40.
FIGS. 1-4 illustrate the complexity that can occur when connecting a consumer electronics device to a television. These situations illustrate only a single consumer electronic device, represented by Internet terminal 20. Such a consumer electronics device is, however, simply representative since identical events happen whenever any type of consumer electronics device is connected to a television. When multiple consumer electronics devices are connected to a television, the situation becomes even more confusing. One such configuration is illustrated in FIG. 5 where the video programming is provided by a cable television service. The consumer also has both an Internet terminal and a VCR that he desires to connect to a television. Given these choices, FIG. 5 represents one possible configuration that a user might be required to connect.
In FIG. 5, video programming is delivered to the user through coaxial cable 24. When video programming is delivered from a cable television service, usually some, and occasionally all, of the channels are scrambled or otherwise encoded to discourage piracy. Cable television services thus, typically require a user to have a cable box 64 to decode these channels. Coaxial cable 24 is therefore connected to input connector 66. Output connector 68 is typically connected via coaxial cable 70 to the input connector 72 of VCR 74. Output connector 76 of VCR 74 is connected via coaxial cable 78 to input connector 26 of Internet terminal 20. Output connector 35 of Internet terminal 20 is connected via coaxial cable 28 to input connector 36 of television 50 as previously described. Internet terminal 20 is also connected to television 50 via RCA cable 44 as previously described in conjunction with FIG. 4. As far as the video connection goes, a user could, alternatively, connect S-video connector 60 to S-video connector 52 with an S-video cable as previously described in conjunction with FIG. 3. VCR 74 is also connected to television 50 via RCA cable 80. RCA cable 80 thus connects video output 88 of VCR 74 to video input 82, left channel audio output 90 to left channel input 84 and right channel audio output 92 to right channel audio input 86.
In order to allow a user to change channels and control the various devices by remote control, Internet terminal 20 may incorporate a mechanism that prevents a user from having to use a separate remote control for each consumer electronics device. For example, Internet terminal 20 may be a WebTV Plus set-top box, which provides an IR blaster (an infrared emitter) that can be used to deliver infrared information from Internet terminal 20 to various consumer electronics devices. This allows a user, for example, to change channels using the remote control for Internet terminal 20, which will then relay the command to the appropriate device, such as cable box 64 or VCR 74 by transmitting appropriate infrared signals through IR blaster 94. This capability requires a user to connect IR cable 94 and place the other end of the cable in a location where the cable can deliver infrared information to the infrared receivers of cable box 64 and VCR 74, as illustrated in FIG. 6. As illustrated in FIG. 6, IR blaster cable 94 has an emitter assembly 96 which may be positioned on cable box 64 such that the infrared receiver of cable box 64 can receive the signals emitted from emitter assembly 96. In the example shown in FIG. 5, IR blaster 94 has two IR emitter assemblies. Although both emit IR simultaneously, the VCR 72 and cable box 64 normally will only respond to IR signaling encoded for each device.
The configuration of FIG. 5 represents just some of the complexity that can occur when a user desires to connect multiple consumer electronics devices to a television. A couple of observations should be made about the configuration illustrated in FIG. 5. As illustrated in FIG. 5, cable box 64 is connected to VCR 74 which is connected to Internet terminal 20 which is connected to television 50. In addition, another connection exists between VCR 74 and television 50. Such a configuration allows, for example, a user to record one channel on VCR 74 while, simultaneously, watching a different channel on television 50. However, it can be seen that should other consumer electronics devices wish to be placed in the chain, cabling modifications will have to be made. Not all configurations will allow a user to record video information from one source on a VCR while watching video information from another source. The various configurations can get extremely complicated and it is easy to see while many users cannot figure out how to make connections that allow full use of all features of the consumer electronics devices.
It would, therefore, be an advancement in the art to dramatically simplify the method of connecting various consumer electronics devices to a television. It would also be an advancement in the art to provide a simplified connection mechanism which virtually any user could follow and which allowed users to take full advantage of all capabilities of their various consumer electronics devices, independent of the number or type of consumer electronics devices connected to the television. It would also be an advancement in the art to reduce the overall cost of manufacturing consumer electronics devices using such an interconnection scheme.
The problems in the prior states of the art have been successfully overcome by the present invention which is directed to systems and methods for interconnecting a plurality of consumer electronics devices using a simplified cabling and connector system. The system allows users to quickly and easily interconnect any number of consumer electronics devices. The present invention provides the ability for users to interconnect their consumer electronics devices in such a way that the full capability of all consumer electronics devices may be realized without regard to the number or type of consumer electronics devices that are connected together.
According to the present invention, a consumer electronics device is provided with a plurality of identical, interchangeable connectors on the consumer electronics device. The connectors are identical in that each connector is of the same type and has the same number of connector pins. The connectors are interchangeable in that any cable may be plugged into any connector and function properly. This eliminates errors that often occur when users connect the wrong cable to the wrong connector. All such cabling mismatches are totally eliminated by the present invention.
In order to connect the consumer electronics device with the plurality of connectors to other consumer electronics devices, a plurality of cables are provided, each specifically adapted to connect to a particular consumer electronics device. For example, if a user has a television with only a VHF/UHF coaxial connector, then the user would select a cable that had on one end a connector designed and clearly labeled to connect to the VHF/UHF connector. The other end of the cable would terminate in a connector designed to attach to any one of the plurality of identical, interchangeable connectors. The user would thus take the cable, plug it into any open connector and connect the other end to the appropriate connector on the television.
When a cable is attached to one of the plurality of identical, interchangeable connectors on the consumer electronics device, the consumer electronics device senses the particular type of cable that has been attached. The consumer electronics device may then configure the pins of the connector to transmit or receive the signals that are appropriate to the cable. Thus, when the user connects the cable to the television or other consumer electronics device, the cable is properly configured.
The same mechanism may be used to connect the consumer electronics device to other consumer electronics devices. The consumer electronics device thus acts like a central hub with individual cables running to each of the other consumer electronics devices. If a user desires to add or remove a particular consumer electronics device from his configuration, it is a simple matter to either plug in a new cable or remove a cable from the device. No other cabling changes need be made. This is a dramatic improvement over the prior art where if a device is added or removed, often dramatic changes in the cabling structure need be made.
Because the consumer electronics device having the plurality of identical, interchangeable connectors forms a kind of hub in the consumer electronics system, the device may be used for routing the appropriate signals from an appropriate device to another appropriate device. Thus, it becomes a relatively easy task to route video signals from one source to a first destination, as for example a VCR, while, simultaneously, routing a second video source to a second destination, as for example the television. Thus, the architecture may be sufficient for a user to record video information from any source while, simultaneously, watching video information from any other source.
Objects of the present invention, therefore, include providing a simplified cabling mechanism which allows users to quickly and easily interconnect any number of consumer electronics devices, providing a system and method for interconnecting consumer electronic devices which allows consumer electronics devices to be easily added or removed from the configuration, and providing a system and method for interconnecting consumer electronics devices that virtually eliminates interconnection errors.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by the practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instruments and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. These and other objects and features of the present invention will become more fully apparent from the following description and appended claims, or may be learned by the practice of the invention as set forth hereinafter.